


Beneath the Surface

by KommanderKD



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Abs for Days, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Dune Buggy, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Ice Nation are Raiders, Lexa Has a Top Hat, Lexa has a dog cos our lonely baby needs a companion, M/M, Novel Length, Probs Part 1 of a few, Romance will happen but plot heavy, Slow Burn, So many enemies so little time, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-10-11 17:19:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10470138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KommanderKD/pseuds/KommanderKD
Summary: When the nukes wreaked their devastation everything was reduced to dust and every day became a struggle to survive. 200 years after the bombs fell the grounders had a new threat to face, as the Mountain men rose from the ashes of their world and proclaimed themselves its leader. They kill and enslave all grounders who stand in their way.Clarke has spent her whole life underground. She has grown to hate those that live above, this hatred stemming from the loss of her father. However, she dreams of the ground, of the sun on her face and the wind in her hair. What she doesn’t know is how quickly her freedom will come.Clarke and Lexa’s world’s collide after a devastating attack on Lexa’s village. Will Clarke see through her ignorant hatred and help Lexa save the ground? Will Lexa be able to save her people from the authority?OrThe steampunk-ish AU where Lexa has a top hat and a vendetta, Clarke can really hold a grudge, Raven is a little shit and Octavia blossoms into a beautiful badass





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little PSA: I have been working on this idea for years and have finally started to write it. I will be posting just this first chapter for now to see how people take it. If all goes well I will write around 3 or 4 Chapters then try to update as frequently as possible.
> 
> I have no Beta for this story and some of it was written when I was much younger (before the 100 was even a thing) so some parts may be a little scrappy, this first chapter is mainly focused on setting up the rest of the story and may be a bit rough in places.
> 
> TW for this Chapter! Lexa does suffer a serious injury in the first part of this story! It happens in the final part if this is an issue for anyone. There will be a lot of violence in this story, and Lexa will be on the receiving or giving end of much of it, if this is an issue for anyone then this story may not be for you 
> 
> NEXT TW: very very brief mention of rape within two parts of the chapter, none involving any major character, it is just used to set up the brutal nature of the world I am creating

The hot dust burns her toned stomach as she crawls towards her prey. A single bead of sweat caressing her cheek as her goggles lock onto her target. Trikova lies in a similar position to his human, his paws digging into the dust, expressive golden eyes focused. She lifts her steel revolver, aims, and fires a dart directly into the creature’s neck, sending a burst of electricity through its body. Lexa holsters the pistol, ruffles the Cattle dog’s dark fur and moves towards the mutated deer’s unconscious form. She unhooks the rope from her belt and uses it to start pulling the game back to her village. It’s at times like this that she thanks the spirits for her mechanical arm brace, and for the extra strength it lends her. Not that she's glad that she's forced to wear it, the contraption serving as a constant reminder of the injury she received in the raid that killed her parents. Rolling her shoulder she ignores the nagging thoughts and continues to drag the deadweight behind her. 

She’s about an hour’s hike from camp; the sun scorching her tanned skin, reflecting off of her tattooed features and heating the steel of her arm brace. Her usual outfit is made for the baking heat of the new Earth; her black slim fit pants are perfect for manoeuvring around the wastes, for hunting and fighting off bandits. Her brace doubles as shoulder armour, and is held in place by a leather strap, stretching across her chest and under her left arm. Her body has grown accustomed to the burning of the sun, so being covered is not an issue, heat stroke however, still is, due to this, it is common for chest coverings to be of a bare minimum, Lexa preferring to sport a dark grey strapless binding, to cover and protect her breasts. Her outfit is topped off with leather suspenders, a sleeveless dark brown trench coat and combat boots, as well as her utility belt, lucky top hat, red scarf and most importantly of all, her mechanical goggles. 

The grounders have some… unusual traditions. Although they are not worried about being modest with their clothing, they consider the eyes to be the most private part of the body, to be seen exclusively by lovers and close family members. The eyes are the windows to the soul and to reveal them is to leave ones-self bare for all to see. Therefore it is common in their society to cover one’s eyes with goggles. Lexa added most of her goggles’ modifications herself, the lens changers that allow her to quickly zoom in on a target, a small torch attached to the left side, a mini recording device inside the right lens, and her analytical adjustment that allows her to lock onto and inspect particular items. They are the most advanced piece of a technology her people have ever come across, the items all salvaged from bunkers and factories from the old world, their true nature only known by those closest to Lexa. Her younger brother Aden is only family Lexa has left, and she treasures him more than life itself. The world has not been kind to Lexa, leading her to trust few and be wary of outsiders. 

She has formed a hierarchy of hatred, a list of those she despises the most. In third place are the bandits, the thieving, malicious men and women of the wastes that answer to a woman Lexa has dubbed ‘the ice Queen’. She is situated far to the north, where the dust is covered in thick, grey snow and the nights are long and harsh. She sends her men to the south in order to raid their villages and hunt their game; the north is baron and dead, whereas the south is rich with life and new opportunities. The southerners would have happily accepted the northerners into their clans, but their fear of the authority keeps them away from these lands, they instead steal and kill their way to survival, rather than fighting alongside their equals. 

Second in her list are the ‘undies’, a semi-creative name the grounders use to describe the inhabitants of the underground city known as the Ark. When the bombs fell those who could afford it bought a spot on either the Ark, or inside Mount Weather, the grounders are made up of those who could afford neither, and had to make do with what they had. Lexa’s hatred stems not for their disregard for the humans left above, but for their alliance with the authority. They could survive underground without interference, or like the Ice bandits, could immigrate into the grounder society, but they instead provide the tyrannous authority with weapons and vehicles that they can use to kidnap and enslave innocent people. Although they never directly harm Lexa’s people, it’s their ignorance that infuriates her, they see her people as savages, cannibals, and they follow every word the authority tells them, like a child to a pompous mentor. How she would love for them to get a taste of their own medicine, for them to see how unwitting they truly are. 

Her abhorrence for the Undies however, is quelled by the pure evil of the self-proclaimed ‘Authority’. Lexa’s people prefer to call them The Mountain Men, as they are made up of the powerful politicians, military leaders and billionaires that escaped to Mountain Weather during the Earth’s destruction. They made contact with the outside world over 50 years before the Undies even knew it was survivable. They quickly began reclaiming land and building a huge city based around their old war time home. They used their superior weaponry to destroy all the freedom the grounders had and made themselves the self-proclaimed leaders of the waste. Their men raid villages and steal people away into the night, enslaving them in various ways, whether it be their into their army of reapers (drug fuelled soldiers who have had their minds and thoughts taken from them), as various workers and servants, the poor souls forced to murder each other for the entertainment of others, or the younger men and women, forced into the Mountain’s sex trade, their innocence forever lost. Each fate brings fear among Lexa’s people, keeping them constantly on the move, whole villages packed away in the night, as they hope for a day when they can finally fight back. 

Lexa’s thoughts begin to clear as she finally makes her way through the gates of her village; she sees that her people already seem to be packing up for the night ready to return to their homes and families. She moves through the village with ease, giving small smiles and nods to people she passes. Everyone knows everyone in their small community, but Lexa is particularly famous, due to her hunting and engineering capabilities; she's something of a leader among the younger generations and a friendly trouble maker and trader in the eyes of the adults. Her people are fiercely protective over the young hunter, more so than she thinks. 

Once Lexa reaches the market district, she trades off her meat for some of the parts needed for a project she’s been working on, and a much smaller meal for her and Aden. She makes the decision to go visit her old mentor before meeting with her brother. Carrying her new supplies she makes her way through the scrap metal and cloth buildings until she reaches the village’s smithy. Inside, Anya sits behind a long wooden counter, cleaning a large brass hunting rifle. Lexa scans the various tools and weapons lining the walls of the small shack, admiring their craftsmanship. She's always been interested in making things, whether that’s weapons, armour or tools that help with daily life. There’s never a moment where she hasn’t got grease smeared on her stomach or small cuts on her calloused hands. 

‘You’re late’ Anya doesn’t bother to look up at Lexa’s intrusion, instead continuing her work. 

Lexa rolls her eyes, ‘I didn’t arrange to come here’, she pulls up a stool and sits in front of her old teacher, picking up a rag and a weapon she begins cleaning.

‘But whenever you usually show up unannounced you do so at an earlier hour’, she places the rifle down and looks at Lexa with a smirk.

‘That does not make sense and you know it’, Lexa tells her, earning a smirk in reply. 

‘What brings you here, second?’ the older girl enquires,

‘I am no longer your second, Anya’ Lexa teases with the ghost of a grin upon her face. 

‘While that is true I can’t help but take it upon myself to remind you that I taught you everything you know’ Anya fires back with a grin of her own. Lexa lets out a small content laugh,

‘Whatever you say, elder Anya… I have only come to check in on you; to make sure Gustus has not killed you yet,’

‘Trying to steal my job already Lexa? You may as well try to put a knife in me yourself, I’m not going anywhere’

‘I sure hope not Anya, who will I get to sharpen my blades for me?’ Lexa asks, her smirk back in full force.

‘Oh I see, so this is the real reason you’re here. Well, hand them over.’ Lexa grins fully this time, grabbing her dual swords and dagger as Anya looks on at her with an endeared smile. Lexa places the blades on the counter along with some gold pieces which are pushed back towards her.

‘We may not be blood, but we are family Lexa, family do not pay in my store, never forget that.’ 

Sometimes her mind can become so caught up in what she’s lost, she forgets what she has. Aden may be her blood family, but Anya’s right, she's part of more than that. This store, her village, the grounders, they are all her people. Even her animal companion has her back. Trikova is always behind his master, forever in her debt since she saved him from a party of raiders when he was just a pup. He is fiercely loyal and protective of the teenager and would kill anything that attempted to harm her. Dogs are a rarity among the grounders, most of them not able to survive the war, and the unbearable heat the south produces. The Australian Cattle dog is perfectly adapted to the desert-like atmosphere and his strong stature keeps him protected from lurking predators and bandits. 

Her canine companion licks at her fingers and Lexa scratches his head. Gustus takes this moment to join the younger girls in the smithy, his huge stature being a hulking presence in the small room. He immediately notices Lexa’s mind wandering and decides to approach her slowly. He places a large hand on her shoulder and gives it a soft squeeze. 

‘Hey little hunter, are you with us?’ Gustus inquires gently, Lexa looks up at him with hazy eyes, clarity slowly begins to return and her lips curl up into a small smile. 

‘Gustus! 

‘I’ll finish sharpening your swords and will stick them in the safe, just come round for them when you’re ready. But before you go, Aden’s present is finally ready’ she reaches underneath the counter and hands Lexa a long object wrapped in red cloth. 

‘Thank you Anya, I hope he loves it’

‘He will do, give him my best’

‘I will, see you soon Onya’

‘See you soon.’

Lexa exits the blacksmiths and starts making her way towards her and Aden’s shack, Lincoln used to look after Aden on the days in which she’s hunting, but her sibling soon grew tired of being babied and Lexa conceded to letting him stay at home alone. Although they live in a rough world, Lexa tries her best to shield her brother from as much violence as she can. She doesn’t keep him naïve to it all though, she's trained him with guns and a sword, she just believes he is not ready for the first-hand experience just yet; she wants him to keep the childhood innocence Lexa and Lincoln never had. 

Lexa and her companion stop in front of a rusted metal door and the former knocks twice, ‘Aden, are you home?’ She hears the tip tap of footprints and immediately recognises them as her younger brother’s. She immediately feels a grin take over her usually stoic face and hugs the younger boy into her chest, ruffling his hair affectionately. He exaggerates a groan and attempts to push her away.

‘Leksaaa… I'm not a little kid anymore stop it.’ There’s no conviction behind his words, but Lexa chooses to tease him anyway.

‘Well that is a shame, because I brought a present for my little brother, but since he isn’t little anymore I'm going to have to give it to Tris instead.’ The blonde boy looks up at her with puppy eyes that could rival Trikova’s.

‘What? No. A present? Can I have it please sis?’ Lexa struggles to keep a straight face as she looks into the young boy’s pleading eyes.

‘I don’t know Aden. If you take it then you’ll have to admit that you’re my little bro and accept my cuddles all the time’

‘I will! I promise! I’ll even accept kisses!’ 

‘You drive a hard bargain youngen, but I think I can live with that’ she takes the present from behind her back and hold it out in front of her. Aden’s face is positively beaming as he receives his present. He unwraps its contents eagerly yet with great care. He reaveals a light short-sword, a smaller and easier to handle replica of Lexa's own. 

'I think you're ready to step up a level in your training', his eyes light up

'really!? Thank you Lexa you won't-'

A large crash rumbles through the shack, the walls shake and screams can be heard from outside. Lexa rushes out of the front door, ready to protect her family. She hears a commotion coming from Village's main gate, whispers of the Mountain men spreading like wildfire as she watches her people rush around in every direction. 

“Trikova take Aden to the bunker we found, and stay hidden!” she yells to her canine companion. The animal hesitates, reluctant to leave his master’s side.

“I’ll be fine. Go, protect him!” she states, already running towards the square.

There’s an eerie silence among her people, they are crowding in a crescent moon shape, looking on to the heavily armed guards in front of them. Lexa barges her way through the crowd, until she is in the second row, hidden from view, but able to see all the events that unfold. Her jaw clenches once she notices what’s happening. There are 8 of her people on their knees, with guns to their heads and hands bound behind their backs. The leader of the mountain men steps out in front of the hostages, his voice echoing through the village. 

“We’ve been hearing a few rumours about this dirty little village. That you’re the savages harbouring your coward leader from us!” Everyone remains silent as he stares them down. 

“WHERE IS THE HEDA?!” his voice bellows and bounces off the walls, making a few of the villagers flinch. No one responds; they stare at him, unwavering. He smirks and snaps his fingers, the soldiers behind him, taking their cue fire in synchronisation, slaughtering all 8 hostages. Gasps spread across the group but none make a move to give up any information. The guards grab 8 more people from the crowd, all struggling against their solid grip. The process is repeated, the leader demands the Heda, the crowd remains unresponsive and the body count rises. There are 24 dead villagers by the time someone says something. The fourth group of 8 are being pulled from those that remain when she sees them, her cousin and baby brother being ripped apart and thrown to their knees. 

“I think some harsher tactics will need to be used in order to get your attention, since you’re all so uncooperative.” He motions for his men to grab more hostages, this time grabbign the youngest members for the crowd. Among the children at his mercy is Tris, Anya's second, he pushes her to her knees in front of him, and placing the barrel of his pistol against her temple, he speaks again. 

“Where is the Hed-“

Lexa cuts him off, stepping out of the crowd and into the light, her face is stern, her hands clenched into fists at her sides.

“I’m the Heda, now let the kids go” the man smirks at her, releasing his grip on the younger girl's hair. The crowd wait for his response their faces demanding retribution, ready to fight for the only person willing to sacrafice herself.

“I admire your courage girly, but I know that your claim is not true, you are nothing but a child and I don’t like my time being wasted” He lifts his pistol, and shoots Tris in the back of the head, he quickly aims upwards to take out Lexa as well, but is quicker than he is. She's shot two of his men, and shot a dart into the leader’s leg before he can blink. As the shock flows through him, he squeezes the trigger and the rampage begins. 

Lexa’s pain fuelled mind struggles to make sense of the anarchy around her. She lies on her back staring at the cloudless blue sky above, her shoulder throbbing intensely, as her whole world falls apart around her. The screams of pain and anger echoing through her home could be heard for miles around, alerting bandits and villagers of the massacre occurring. No one stands up to the mountain men and survives, this time is no different. Lexa turns her head to the gates and can do nothing but watch as the people she's known her whole life are slaughtered in front of her, they beat and torture those who can’t fight back and seek pleasure in forcing themselves upon struggling girls and boys before slitting their throats. Bile collects in her throat and she almost lets out an anguished cry as the last few people she loves are pulled into large armoured vehicles, but unconsciousness takes over before she can form the first syllable. And they call the grounders savages.


	2. Warm Welcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa's loyalty to her people is tested

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the amazing kudos response on the last chapter!  
> I've ended this one earlier than anticipated but let me know if you'd prefer longer chapters less often or shorter chapters (like this) more often!
> 
> TW: torture in this chapter, skip if you're not happy with that and I'll summarise what happened in the notes on the next chap!

As her body regains consciousness the first thing Lexa notices is the lack of screaming. It is instead replaced with a rhythmic beeping that she has never heard before. The second is that pain in her shoulder has reduced significantly; it has dulled from an agonising pain to a light throbbing sensation. She struggles to open her eyes, the brightness of the room causing her head to pound, she attempts and reattempts the simple action until her dry eyes grow accustomed to the synthetic lights. Her goggles are missing, a clear sign that she is not among her own people. She takes in the room around her, the brace that usually covers her weak arm is missing and is replaced by a sling that pulls it across her chest, and she has been stripped down to her bindings. She pulls at the rope that connects her strong arm to a rusted metal chair, the ropes refuse to budge and she knows that pulling them any harder will just result in nasty burns. Her eyes follow the wire leading from her finger; it connects her to a tall machine, the source of the beeping. Using her thumb she pushes the small device off of her index finger. The machine lets off a sudden high pitched alarm and she recoils from it, clenching her eyes shut. The people who took her will be coming now; until they return her goggles her eyes will remain shut, no matter how much the lack of vision scares her. 

 

The door slams against the wall when the alerted enter the room. She counts two… no three sets of footsteps, one pair settles in front of where she is sat, another travels around her and settles at the back of the chair, while the third remains by the door and slams it shut. The alarm stops ringing as the figure behind her pulls out the wires. An eerie silence fills the room as she waits for them to speak. She wonders who will talk first, not the man by the door, he is clearly a henchman of some sort, paid to follow orders and not to think for himself. The man behind her is clearly an intimidation tactic, to make her feel closed in, it isn’t working. The man in front of her clearly holds all the power, he has not had to lift a finger since he walked into the room, he won’t be the one with the blood on his hands if this all goes south.

 

 ‘We know you’re awake’ the leader is the first to speak, as expected, ‘look at me when I talk to you girl, you’re not fooling anyone’

 

This man is clearly ignorant to the ways of her people, he is either a very sheltered member of the mountain men, or she has been dragged to Arkadia. Only a select few of their scavengers ever go up the surface. Lexa can’t decide which concept is worse.

A rough hand grabs her by the jaw and turns her head to the side, ‘you were given and order savage and I expect you to follow’, seems like henchman number two has a backbone, good for him, bet he makes his family proud. 

 

‘It’s quite alright Pike, her eyes may just be a little sensitive to the light, put those tinted goggles on her,’ the leader’s voice has a passive aggressive nature like he is trying to contain his emotions to seem professional. A response of yes sir is heard from behind her and soon she feels the goggles being placed over her eyes. They are held on by a band of elastic, rather than the usual metal and leather of her personal pair, they must’ve been confiscated along with the rest of her things upon arrival. Once they are properly secured, Lexa takes in the appearance of the man in front of her. His clothes are like nothing she has seen before, his jacket and pants are a clean navy blue, his smart oxford shoes are polished enough to see your reflection, his shirt is a crisp white, and he wears a black tie. Lexa cannot recognise most of the items that he is wearing but she knows they are new; the fabric used to make them is too clean to be second hand. He is clearly a man who benefits from the mountain.

 

‘That’s better isn’t it dear,’ I look up into his dark brown eyes, ready to read his soul. ‘Now we’ve helped you, you were going to die up there but our men brought you here and our medic saved your life so I believe you owe us a favour, don’t you?’ she should’ve known they would be undies, weak people, never willing to fight. She tilts her head at him, feigning misunderstanding.

 

‘How about this, you tell us about your people, where the rebels are and we will let you go and whatever little village you came from will be safe from harm. How’s that sound?’ this man needs to learn not to treat warriors like children.

_‘I cannot understand you’_ Lexa hopes that by using her native tongue that she can postpone the violence that is bound to occur when they realise she will never give up her people’s secrets.

 

'Pike what language is that?'

 

'I'm not sure sir, it must be a grounder language. I have never heard it before, but she may be faking'

 

The dark-skinned leader leans down so his face is level with Lexa's, 'I will give you one last chance to answer my questions, we will soon find out if you are faking so make this easy on yourself.'

 

So much for the delay in violence, she manages to keep my expression schooled but she knows if they could see eyes they would see the true extent of her fear. The leader sighs and leans away from my face; he looks to Pike and nods his head. His lips show a disappointed frown but his eyes are hard, he wants Lexa to feel guilty like she is the one in control of what is about to happen, when really he is just a stone cold son of a bitch. Lexa manages not to brace herself when Pike walks around her chair and throws his fist into her jaw. Her head whips to the side and she spits out the blood that is gathering in her mouth. She looks back up at the two men looming above her, straightens her back and smiles. Pike’s face falls into a deadly scowl and he lets out an angry huff before going to hit her again, she flinches this time but the hit never comes.

 

‘Enough Charles, that is nothing compared to the brutality of her people, it’s probably how her father woke her up in the morning-’

 

‘but Chancellor Jaha-‘

 

‘That does not mean to say that this interrogation is over, unhook the portable battery from that heart monitor, Reyes put it together with an old car battery and jumper cables if anything will get her to talk it’ll be some good ole fashioned shock therapy.’

 

It takes all of Lexa’s willpower to not show a reaction to that statement. She's worked on cars, she knows the power those batteries hold. Pike follows Jaha’s order without hesitation, ripping the battery from the old machine and pulling a small table from the back of the room to place it on. He roughly yanks her arm out of its sling and uses the fabric to strap it to the arm of the chair before attaching the jumper cable clips to her hands, the sharp ridges digging into both the palms and upper sides to her hands. The battery is hooked up to a switch, a safety procedure their engineer must’ve put in place in case of malfunction. Pike lets his thumb hover around the silver switch, ready to push it into position at Jaha’s command.

 

‘Now I'm going to give you one last chance, say you will help us and your previous fear will all be forgiven, you just have to tell us where Polis is.’

 

Polis? Lexa question to herself. They want to find Polis? The place is a myth, if we really had a huge rebel alliance we would be fighting back by now. Pike begins to power up the machine, flipping switches and turning nozzles until the hum of electricity beings to fill the room.

 

‘ _I do not know what you are talking about’_ Lexa does not fight to keep the emotion from her voice this time. Her fear is real and may be the only thing to convince the men that she truly has nothing to say to them.

 

Jaha nods to Pike

 

Pike’s eyes sparkle with sadistic pleasure

 

The switch is flicked

 

The screaming begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger, this is gonna be a pretty angsty fic for a while but itll get better!  
> Again let me know what chapter length you prefer, I can get ones of this length out every week or so (maybe much more often once i get into the flow) or I can do ones like the first chapter which will take considerably longer
> 
> love you guys x

**Author's Note:**

> Well that escalated quickly... Like I said I wanted to set up the rest of the story while trying my best not to bore you all, I hope you've enjoyed this taster
> 
> PLS review so I know if people are interested with me continuing, I don't wanna waste the hours of effort that this story will take me :)


End file.
